Cheat Sheet

Astrology For Dummies

If you want to use astrology to understand yourself and others, you need to know the astrological basics and what they represent: the 12 signs of the zodiac; the Sun, the Moon, and the planets; and the 12 houses of the horoscope.

Signs of the Zodiac: Symbols, Dates, Traits, and Planetary Rulers

What's your sign? A zodiac sign is the portion of the zodiac occupied by the Sun at the moment of your birth. Because the Sun resides in each sign of the zodiac for about a month, those signs are also known as Sun signs. The following table shows the 12 Sun signs — along with their astrological symbols, their dates, the essential traits associated with them, and their planetary rulers:

Astrology: Planetary Symbols and Influences

Astrology holds that the Sun, the Moon, and the planets represent different facets of who you are and express their energies through the signs that they occupy in your birth chart. This table shows the astrological symbol for each of those celestial bodies (plus the Nodes of the Moon and the asteroid Chiron) and what it represents.

Astrological Houses and What They Mean

Just as the band of sky where the Sun, the Moon, and the planets can be found is divided into 12 signs, an astrological chart is divided into 12 houses. Each astrological house influences different areas of your life, as shown in this table: